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This module is an optional module available to all users of the warehouse management system. |
This covers all aspects of using the condition reporting module (CR)
Condition Reporting is the process of taking images of stock to show their condition at the point of receipt or at some point during the stocks stay within the warehouse.
You can use this for any item in the warehouse, we record the information at the rotation level, so each batch of a product arrives, is provided a rotation, we can then store images for the specific rotation.
This is used heavily within the fine wine industry as the value of the items varies depending on the condition of the item.
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Condition Reporting can be carried out by using a mobile phone all the way to a dedicated photographic booth within the warehouse. The system requires the module to be activated in order for you to use this functionality. |
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Setup & Configuration
Instructional Video - YouTube Part 1
This video will help you understand what Condition Reporting is and how you can set up and configure the Vision Warehouse Software for it. It’s the first step you need to know before you request a Condition Report.
Site Options
There are two options within the site settings (accessed from ADMIN → Site menu)
Auto CR Request from Pre-Advice - this enables the pre-advice request for a condition report to be actioned when switched on and will insert the CR request automatically.
Validate CR Location - This ensures that the items you receipt are landed into the CR location and not the main warehouse when there is a CR request for the item at the point of when it arrives in the warehouse.
Product Group Options
The system comes with a number of default product groups as standard, for example in regards to wine we have
Wine
HV Wine (High Value)
UV Wine (Ultra High Value)
With the product groups setup the HV and UV are marked as High Value and should you be using the High Value restrictions for the sales orders this flag will take effect.
There is a further flag on the form marked as “Auto Condition Report” when this is ticked the product arriving on the goods inwards due to this flag will end up with the CR flag on the pre-advice being also ticked to ensure that the item is Condition Reported before the goods are put away in the final location.
You can access existing product groups through the righ side navigation search facility
Pre-Advice Options
When pre-advices are added to the system, you will be asked the type of pre-advice, this sets a number of different options for the receipt mostly involving charging, however one of them is the “AUTO CR” option.
The “AUTO CR” when switched on and if this receipt type is used will automatically register all items on the goods inwards pre-advice for condition reporting.
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This is used especially when goods are being purchased from a private individual for resale, on the example opposite it is turned on for the receipt type of “RCI” which is Reserve Customer Intake |
You can access this screen through the ADMIN menu where there is an option for Delivery Type Maintenance
Location Setup
Our suggestion if to have dedicated condition reporting locations, this is essential if you are using the “Customer Re-rotate” option.
If you have your own dedicated locations then you should also consider switching on the Validate CR location option which is in the site menu (and mentioned above)
The dedicated locations should have their location type setup as “Condition Report”
When goods have to be put away - the system will automatically inform the user on FLEX (when trying to locate the goods) or on VW (after the put away) that it is the wrong type of location
When being requested to move goods from the warehouse to condition reporting it ensures that the goods are put into a condition reporting location (flex only)
When putting the goods away following the condition report it ensures they are moved back to a normal location (flex)
It also stops you accidentally locating items into the condition reporting area which should not be placed there.
User Setup
Each user who has access to add condition reports is licensed, in order to allocate the licenses you need to authorise the user to logon and use condition reporting within the user access rights.
A new option “Con Rep Licensed” needs to be ticked for the user.
This replaces the old server license system which is used on the older versions.
Customer Setup
There is a charging mechanism for condition reports which is setup through the main customer setup.
Within the CHARGE DEFAULTS tab you can setup the charging for the reports, as there are three styles, if the customer will be using them those styles need to have a charge, if no charge exists then they are FREE.
The charging is by REPORT or by the CASE, when the Condition report is added the user is asked to confirm how many items to invoice, if you are using REPORT it would be 1 and per case would depend on the number of cases you are reporting on.
PA CR Request Type - When a new report is requested at the pre-advice stage which type of condition report is required, this defaults all the requests to a standard type for the customer. So if they always have Pro reports then tick the Pro line.
CR Re-Rotation
This is a new option and when you select the 
option it provides you a reminder of what this option does.
If you select this option a request for a condition report will provide a new rotation number for the items you are condition reporting, it only does this when there is a balance left on the rotation.
This allows you to take a single case from a rotation with many cases, and separate that to a new rotation number which then keeps the report unique to the single case.
Storage
All images are stored as image files within a directory structure, on the server. The images filenames are masked to avoid users having the ability to substitute an image for an alternative. You can only recall the images through the system.
Requesting a Condition Report (CR)
This can be requested using a number of different methods:
Manually adding a request on the condition reporting form using the [ADD] button
Making a request through the VCIS system against stock items.
The above deal with items which are already in stock, where the item is arriving or at the pre-advice stage you can
Sent the request through EDI marking the line to be condition reported on receipt
Have the product setup in the UV (Ultra Value) groups which are usually setup for mandatory reporting on arrival
Have the type of receipt setup that it requires a condition report for the entire receipt at the point of receiving.
All of the 3 items above mark the pre-advice line with the CR marker, which also is shown on the following
Check Sheet
Put Away Note
Rotation Label
Flex Device for Checking and Put away.
Instructional Video - YouTube Part 2
As you can note above the account does not have the notifications setup within VW Customer setup.
Types of Condition Reports
There are currently three types of reports catered for within the existing system, this can be expanded as required.
Name
Use Flex Camera
Internal Only
Description
Quickie
Y
Y
predominantly for internal purposes and usually not of the same quality as the professional report, when your stock control or customers wishes to see an image of the product, this can be taken using the flex camera or another camera phone and then uploaded. We usually mark these as internal use only and they will NOT appear on the web site for the customer and can only be seen internally
Professional
N
N
This is the standard report. Items requiring this are photographed in the condition reporting area or condition booth.
It can be seen on the web site VCIS and is generally carried out at the request and cost to the customer.
We recommend you use jpeg for improved compression. For maximum compatibility and performance
360
N
N
This is for 360degree photographs which are much larger and require specialist equipment to take the image.
360° images can be stored as png, jpeg, or gif.
We recommend you use jpeg for improved compression. For maximum compatibility and performance, image dimensions should be powers of two (e.g., 2048 or 4096)
The new version of VCIS will be released early 2023 which will accommodate 360 images being displayed.
CR Status Options
Status
Flex only
Information / Notes
Requested
A request exists for this rotation, this has come from any of the sources.
Allocated
Y
This item has been selected on a FLEX device to be collected and the user is currently in the process of going through the warehouse to collect the goods.
Moving to booth
Y
The item has been collected on the flex device and is en-route to the condition reporting area
Pending re-rotation
Y
The item is in the condition reporting area but requires a new rotation before the condition report is taken this can be carried out through either FLEX or the condition reporting screen
Waiting in booth
Y
Items which are waiting for their photographs to be taken, this is the queue in the condition reporting location area
In progress
Y
This item is currently having its photograph taken and is being processed.
Return to warehouse
Y
The condition report is complete and the item is waiting to be put away in the warehouse.
Complete
The report is complete and when using flex the item has been returned to the warehouse
If using paper method once you take the photo it will be considered complete you need to use your original list / paperwork to return the item to the warehouse
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It is only possible to see completed reports if you select the “Include Complete” option on the filter section at the top of the form. |
Condition Reporting
CR - Overview
The overview shows a listing of all outstanding condition reports and their current status.
Your default site setting from your user profile should set the site code when opening the page, the minimum search requirements on this page are the Site Code.
This is the only place where you can see Complete Reports.
Customers are now able to place notes with their request, allowing them to provide specific instruction to the person taking the condition report.
Instructional Video - YouTube Part 3
CR - Outstanding
The Outstanding tab shows all the Condition Reports that have been requested but not yet completed.
This list in the grid will show a list of outstanding Condition Reports filtered by the values you entered into the Filter Section before clicking the Search button.
Double-clicking on one of the Condition Reports will open it in the Enter New Report Tab.Â
The email address at the bottom of the page will allow you to send yourself a list of all the reports which need to be carried out, if you are using the paper process you would use this to obtain the stocks and to return them afterwards.
Add New Request
When you click the ADD button on the Condition Report, you will be presented with a form to enter some information
All fields on the form are mandatory except for the Notes field which is optional.
It is possible to enter more Cases than your Customer has in Stock.
This is so your Customer can request reports in advance of Stock arriving or to cover any occasions where your Customer might want more than one picture per Case.
CR - Flex
The Flex tab shows all the Condition Reports that have been requested and are being actioned using the device.
You are able to reset the Status to Requested using the clock icon button next to the Last Update.
Also able to Force Complete the Condition Report using the tick icon button
CR - Enter New Report
This tab is used to manually create a new Condition Report or to add details and photographs to one that has already been created but not yet completed.
The Get Details button should not be used if you are processing a requested Condition Report, as these details are already present within the report and could cause duplication of the Report and further issues when processing subsequent Condition Reports.Â
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The Maximum Number of Photos that can be used is limited to the number of Invoice Cases that you have entered. |
It is possible to generate multiple reports for the same Rotation.
CR - Search and View
Use the tabs within this tab to Search the existing Condition Reports and to View, their details including any photographs already uploaded.
You must enter some criteria to use this tab.
Report Tab to see the details of existing Condition Reports.
The details will be updated to match the Condition Report selected in the Results tab.
Generate Report and Email button to generate a report to email the currently selected Condition Report to the email address you entered in the email address field.
Any changes to the size of the Image here are for investigative purposes only.
No changes will be made to the original Image or the Condition Report that is attached to it.Â
Re-size the screen and the Image by click-dragging the sides and corners of the window.
Delivery of Condition Report
Notification of Completion
There is a daily notification of completion email which can be sent to the customer informing them of the new condition reports that are ready.
Customer would be linked to the VCIS to be able to view the images available.
VCIS
Within the Customer information system there is a Condition Report menu which allows you to
Request a Report
View and Cancel the report
View Completed Reports
In conjunction with the notification of the new report you will be able to access the VCIS and the report from this page of the website.
You need to enter either Rotation number or Product code in order to retrieve the report.
API
In conjunction with the release of the updated website to accommodate 360 photographs, an API will be available for customers to obtain images directly from the system.
This is an electronic system whereby the customer requests the images and the delivery method and they are sent to the customer via email or digitally
Manual Sending
You can send a condition report manually through the system.
This is carried out from the condition reporting form within the Search and View tab or if you send this at the time of completion it can be also actioned from the Enter New Report tab